KENYA’S PRESIDENT has declared the drought, which has affected as much as half the country, a national disaster. Uhuru Kenyatta appealed for international aid and said the government would increase food handouts to the most needy communities. Kenya’s Red Cross says 2.7 million people face starvation if more help is …

DONALD TRUMP’S travel ban faces a fresh legal challenge, a day after it suffered an appeals court setback. Lawyers for the state of Virginia are arguing in a federal court there is “overwhelming evidence” the policy “resulted from animus toward Muslims”. On Thursday, the appeals court said the Trump administration failed …

SCIENTISTS are calling for urgent action to halt the spread of a pest that is destroying maize crops and spreading rapidly across Africa. The fall armyworm poses a major threat to food security and agricultural trade, warns the Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International (Cabi). It says farmers’ livelihoods are …

CIVILIAN CASUALTIES in Afghanistan have hit a new high, including a ten-fold increase in casualties from attacks linked to Islamic State (IS) militants. In its annual report, the UN said 3,498 civilians were killed and 7,920 wounded in 2016, a 3% rise on 2015. The number of children killed or …

NIGERIA’S PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has asked the parliament to extend his medical leave in the UK, amid concerns that his health may be worse than officials are publicly saying. The 74-year-old leader, who has been out of the country for two weeks, was expected to return to Abuja on Sunday. …

SUPPORTERS OF Etienne Tshisekedi, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s veteran opposition leader, have gathered in the capital, Kinshasa, to express their shock at his death. A prominent opponent of successive leaders, he was due to head a transitional council under a deal for President Joseph Kabila to step down. The …

A 36-YEAR-OLD Tunisian man suspected of recruiting for jihadist group Islamic State has been detained in multiple raids in Germany. He was one of 16 people arrested across the central state of Hesse, as 1,100 police searched flats, businesses and mosques. The man is also wanted by Tunisian authorities over …

THE AFRICAN Union has backed a plan to push for a collective withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC), which many countries on the continent believe unfairly targets them. But the decision, taken by African leaders during a closed door session at the recent African Union Summit in Ethiopia, is …

Anti-abortion activists are gathering in Washington to join the annual March for Life protest that has the support of President Donald Trump. Organisers expected thousands of people to join the event, held each year to mark the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision legalising abortion. Vice-President Mike Pence told them: …

THEY LINE up near the Oval Office, down the hallway toward the Cabinet Room, with their spouses and young kids in tow. When it’s their turn, the White House staffers enter for a few private moments with President Barack Obama, a photo and a farewell hug from the boss. There’s a …